Open pit mining excavator



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July 5, 1966 Filed July 19, 1963 July 5, 1966 E. ANDoRF 3,258,865

OPEN PIT MINING EXCAVATOR Filed July 19, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,258,865 OPEN PET MINING EXCAVATOR Erich Alsdorf, Essen-Haarzopf, Germany, assignor to Beteiligungsund Patentverwaltungsgesellschaft mit beschrnkter Haftung, Essen, Germany Filed July 19, 1963, Ser. No. 296,290 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 2, 1963, B 1,377 2 Claims. (Cl. 37-190) The present invention relates to an open pit mining excavator equipped with a bucket wheel tiltable laterally and also upwardly and downwardly for working in block operation o1' in bank-block operation. By working in block operation is meant that the device works in such a way that the bucket ladder during the excavating operation is parallel to the driving direction of the excavator. By bank operation is meant that during the excavation the excavator moves along the excavating bank while in continuous movement it continuously lifts olf a thin chip from the waste or coal.

The open pit mining excavator to which the present invention relates is furthermore equipped with a discharge boom including a conveyor for discharging the excavated goods into a portion of the already mined open pit. The frame structure of such a device which may be on rails along the excavating bank is equipped with an excavating part rotatable about a vertical ,axis and provided with a bucket wheel boom which is displaceable relative to a feeding path and is adapted together with the latter to be lifted and lowered. The frame Work of this device is continued as a long boom rigidly connected to said frame work and supporting conveyor belts by means of which the goods excavated by said bucket wheel are directly poured onto that portion of the open pit which is located opposite to the shelf which has already been mined. During the progress of the mining operation along the bank, it is necessary that after each tilting operation of the bucket wheel boom over the Width of the block for the next following cut of the bucket wheel boom the bucket wheel boom be readjusted. This is effected for instance by advancing the bucket wheel boom by the thickness of the chip to be removed as is the case with the above mentioned conveying bridge with regard to the upper portion of the shelf. However, the advancing mechanism for the bucket wheel boom involves considerable costs and a corresponding additional Weight with regard to feedless bucket Wheel excavators. With this last mentioned type of excavators, however, it is necessary that for each cut adjustment, the entire device be advanced. This has been frequently effected particularly in connection with bank-block operations in view of the low block width but is in many instances undesired in view of the stress to which the drive is subjected, especially under unfavorable conditions of the bottom of the pit and also in View of the strain to which the excavator operator is subjected under such conditions.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an open pit mining excavator, which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide an excavator as set forth above, which may stand still during the mining over the entire depth of the block and only subsequently thereto will be advanced in the direction of the excavating bank.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the excavator according to the present invention when looking in the longitudinal direction of movement of the excavator.

3,258,865 Patented July 5, 1966 FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic top view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of the excavating part proper of the excavator when viewing perpendicularly to the direction of the longitudinal movement of the excavator, FIG. 3 being seen along the line IlI--III of FIG. 2.

The excavator according to the present invention which overcomes the above mentioned drawbacks is characterized primarily in that the vertical axis of rotation of the bearing means for the bucket wheel boom is on the upper frame structure supported by the lower frame structure and rotatable about a vertical axis offset with regard to said last-mentioned axis toward the shelf to such an extent that by turning the upper frame structure during the standstill of the excavator, the cut adjustment of the bucket wheel can be effected for a plurality of successive block cuts in the direction of the longitudinal movement of the excavator. The upper frame structure supports a discharge conveyor belt.

F or the sake of completeness, it may be mentioned that an open pit mining excavator has become known which on the underframe structure movable in the longitudinal direction of movement of the excavator has a platform mounted thereon by means of a turntable, which platform carries a long discharge boom and a turntable eccentrical- -ly arranged thereto which in turn carries the support for a bucket wheel. This bucket wheel is so suspended on said platform that the bucket wheel can be turned within narrow limits only about the axis of the turntable. This excavator, however, lacks a corresponding bucket wheel boom and has its buckets scoop by means of 4their end edges only so that such excavator is neither suitable for block operation nor for operating in bank-block operation. The device operates rather in pure bank operation and always mines one step of the shelf only so that the waste therebelow has to be removed by an additional device. The journalling on the turntable merely has the purpose that by a rather minor turning of the platform the bucket wheel will be crowded somewhat deeper into the shelf.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the excavator according to the invention illustrated therein comprises a caterpillar drive 1a by means of which the excavator is movable on the planum or ground surface of the open mine pit in 4the longitudinal direction of the excavation bank. The upper frame structure 2 of the excavator rests on the underframe structure 1 by roller bearing means 3 and a turntable 3a so that the upper frame structure 2 may be turned about a vertical axis 4. The upper frame structure 2 carries an excavator frame 8 journalled in an upper bearing 6 and a lower bearing 7. The bearings 6 and 7 have a common vertical axis 9 about which the excavator frame may be turned. Suspended on said excavator frame 8 by means of a cable system 11 is a bucket wheel boom 10, said cable system leading to a lifting mechanism 11a on the excavator frame 8. A bucket Wheel 12 is journalled on the outer end of the boom 10. The opposite end of the bucket wheel boom 10 is, shortly ahead of the turning axis 9, supported on the excavator frame 8 in a joint 13 having a horizontal pivot axis. This joint 13 permits the tilting of boom 10 in vertical direction.

The arrangement shown in the drawing furthermore comprises a conveyor belt 14 which passes around a reversing drum near joint 13 and when in operation discharges the excavated material into a funnel 15 arranged in the upper structure 2 between the bearings 6 and 7.

The upper structure 2 has furthermore rigidly connected thereto a long upwardly inclined boom 16 supporting a discharge conveyor belt 17. This discharge conveyor belt 17 extends from a deviating drum 18 slightly ahead of the funnel 15 to a deviating drum 19 at the tip of the boom 16. The arrangement is such that the vertical .plane passing through the longitudinal central portion of the belt 17 also passes through the two pivot axes 4 and 9 (FIG. l).

FIG. 2 illustrates in dash lines the adjustment of the upper structure 2 as it is effected for mining the shelf 20. It may be assumed that the bucket wheel 12 has already produced the upper steps 21 (FIG. 3) of the shelf 20 and is now about to mine the lowermost step 22 slightly above the planum. This is eected by turning the correspondingly lowered bucket wheel boom about axis 9 the corresponding position of which in FIG. 2 has been designated with the numeral 9. The corresponding position of the excavator upper structure 2 is characterized in that the discharge conveyor belt 17 (designated at this location with 17') has been tilted relative to its previous position in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the bank.

When the planum cut of the bucket wheel (indicated by dash lines) has been completed, it is necessary that prior to starting the next cut, the bucket wheel be advanced in the direction to the mining advance by a distance equalling the thickness of the chip to be taken olf. This is effected neither by advancing a correspondingly displaceably journalled bucket Wheel boom nor by moving the excavator, but, in conformity with the present invention, is eifected by a corresponding turning of the upper frame structure in clockwise direction with regard to FIG. 2. This cut adjustment is eifected each time the bucket wheel has passed over the relatively narrow block width.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate in solid lines that, following the advance of the mining in the longitudinal direction of the bank by a certain block depth t, the upper structure 2 is turned in clockwise direction (with regard to FIG. 2) to such an extent that the discharge conveyor belt 17 (designated in its new position with 17") has moved beyond its position perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the bank. As a result thereof, the turning axis 9 of the bucket wheel boom (designated in its new .position with the reference numeral 9) has advanced by a corresponding distance in the longitudinal direction of the bank. FIG. 3 shows that the bucket wheel 12 with the boom 10 correspondingly lifted mines the uppermost step 23 of the corresponding shelf while the steps subsequently to be mined have been indicated by dash lines and designated with the reference numeral 24.

As will be evident from the above, the excavator according to the present invention may be .at a standstill during the mining over the entire block depth t and is only thereafter moved in longitudinal direction of the bank by the block depth t.

During the excavating operation, belt 17 discharges Y the excavated material onto the dump 25 which material is distributed in the longitudinal direction of the bank in conformity with the turning movements of the upper structure 2 of the excavator.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawing but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims. It is furthermore to be understood that the employment of the excavator according to the invention is not limited to bank-block operation but is also applicable for pure block operation.

What I claim is:

1. An open pit mine excavator having a lower frame structure, an upper structure journalled about a vertical rst axis on said lowervframe structure, a rst boom mounted on the upper frame structure and together therewith being rotatable about said rst axis, a frame supported by said upper structure and movable relative thereto only by turning about a second axis extending substantially parallel to said first axis and offset with regard to said irst axis in a direction away from said first boom by a non-variable iixed distance, a second boom, a bucket wheel on one end of said second boom, the other end of said second boom being journalled on said frame on a third axis extending along a plane perpendicular to said lirst and second axes, the oiset of said second axis with regard to said tirst axis being only a fraction of the length of said first boom so that with a plurality of angular adjustments of the first boom a plurality of cutting adjustments of said bucket wheel are automatically brought about while the excavator is at a standstill, the length of the second boom being a multiple of the spacing between said second axis and said rst axis, and conveying means supported by said first boom and said frame and extending from said bucket wheel to the outer end of said rst boom.

2, An excavator according to claim 1, in which the plane passing through said rst and second axes substantially forms the central longitudinal plane of said rst boom.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 758,279 11/ 1952 Germany. 871,576 3/1953 Germany. 934,880 11/1955 Germany.

ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Acting Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN HERSH, A. G. STONE, Examiners. w. B. STONE, w. A. SMITH r11, Amman: Examiners. 

1. AN OPEN PIT MINE EXCAVATOR HAVING A LOWER FRAME STRUCTURE, AN UPPER STRUCTURE JOURNALLED ABOUT A VERTICAL FIRST AXIS ON SAID LOWER FRAME STRUCTURE, A FIRST BOOM MOUNTED ON THE UPPER FRAME STRUCTURE AND TOGETHER THEREWITH BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT SAID FIRST AXIS, A FRAME SUPPORTED BY SAID UPPER STRUCTURE AND MOVABLE RELATIVE THERETO ONLY BY TURNING ABOUT A SECOND AXIS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST AXIS AND OFFSET WITH REGARD TO SAID FIRST AXIS IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID FIRST BOOM BY A NON-VARIABLE FIXED DISTANCE, A SECOND BOOM, A BUCKET WHEEL ON ONE END OF SAID SECOND BOOM, THE OTHER END OF SAID SECOND BOOM BEING JOURNALLED ON SAID FRAME ON A THIRD AXIS EXTENDING ALONG A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND AXES, THE OFFSET OF SAID SECOND AXIS WITH REGARD TO SAID FIRST AXIS BEING ONLY A FRACTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID FIRST BOOM SO THAT WITH A PLURALITY OF ANGULAR ADJUSTMENTS OF THE FIRST BOOM A PLURALITY OF CUTTING ADJUSTMENTS OF SAID BUCKET WHEEL ARE AUTOMATICALLY BROUGHT ABOUT WHLE THE EXCAVATOR IS AT A STANSTILL, THE LENGTH OF THE SECOND BOOM BEING A MULTIPLE OF THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID SECOND AXIS AND SAID FIRST AXIS, AND CONVEYING MEANS SUPPORTED BY AID FIRST BOOM AND SAID FRAME AND EXTENDING FROM SAID BUCKET WHEEL TO THE OUTER END OF SAID FIRST BOOM. 